Mediation

It is so easy for tensions between individuals to dominate the culture of a business or team. And you must never underestimate the impact of dysfunctional or toxic relationships on the individuals themselves, the wider team or on the business as a whole.

I know this from painful, personal experience. I have experienced and witnessed the power of mediation and it is nothing short of transformational. 

When you have tried everything to resolve the tensions that exist between two or more parties on your own and yet nothing is shifting - the same old patterns keep recurring to the detriment of all – sometimes, it just helps to bring in a third party to mediate. 

By having a neutral presence, the dynamic is altered immediately, and this can begin to diffuse the situation. Beyond that, using tried and tested mediation techniques such as venting, identifying toxic behaviours and working on alignment will ensure that you can find a way forward that benefits all parties individually and collectively. 

Occasionally, that may mean a parting of ways and, if you can manage that sensitively, without anger or frustration, then you will have saved yourselves the costly fallout of a messy separation. More often than not, you will have seen the world through different eyes, and you will reach a better understanding together and forge a new way forward to the benefit of all.